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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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468
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. scale — in music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — a video
  5. key — for a lock
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kid — child
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. key — the most important part
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. club — a group
  12. staff — employees
  13. mate — to breed
  14. kid — to tease
  15. club — for dancing
  16. mate — a partner
  17. club — for golf
  18. clip — for paper
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mate — a friend
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. key — in music
  24. staff — a stick

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com